Perchance To Live
by Milena D
Summary: Completely AU and completely DV, hints of SJ but nothing major. Chapter 1 revised!
1. Sobriety

**Title: **Perchance to Live  
**Author: **Milena D.  
**Rating:** T+ for now  
**Genre:** Romance/Action/Adventure, etc. Daniel/Vala all the way ;)  
**SPOILERS:** Just for episode 10x01 "Flesh and Blood" and only for one line. That might change but I'll give a warning if it does.  
**Summary:** COMPLETELY A.U. and COMPLETELY D/V. That's really all there is to say.

**Author's Note:** I know this fic is completely whacky, hence the 'AU' warning, but please give it a chance. It's got great DV potential, I promise! I'm already writing outlines for future chapters and it's looking cool!

**Disclaimer:** I own the plot, unoriginal as it may be. Don't own the characters.

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Chapter 1: Sobriety  
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Daniel groaned as he was suddenly roused out of his alcohol induced sleep. He lay still in his bed for a moment, trying to remember what exactly had happened to leave him in this state. He wasn't a big drinker, as anyone he knew would patronizingly attest to. So why was he hung-over? A single name popped into his head and it sparked a deluge of motion picture memories.

_Ferretti_.

The soldier had put together a party both ridiculous in proportion and wantonly carnal in content. Daniel remembered stepping into the mansion that served as their makeshift bunker for the duration of their stay in this town (Colorado Springs was it? He couldn't recall) and having to step back outside to confirm the address on the door, so overcome was he with disbelief. There were streamers and other party accessories draped over almost every piece of furniture in the main hall and scantily clad women draped over the drunken soldiers.

He'd spotted Sam, his friend whose IQ rivaled the combined intellectual power of every man in this house, on one side of the room, nursing a beer and chatting with the rest of their teammates. She was one of the only women in their expedition but instead of cringing and leaving the party, if this amount of debauchery could actually be _called_ a party, she stood her ground and laughed with her colleagues. Thankfully, her teammembers were just as uncomfortable in the scene as she was. Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell had been raised a good Christian boy in Texas and had turned into a real gentleman in his adult years. Teal'c of Chulak was a refugee from the southern continent of Goa whose culture centered on honour and where this kind of depravity would never have been condoned. And Daniel himself, the fourth member of the team, was quite comfortable admitting he was a geek in almost every sense of the word and having half-naked women try to talk him into sex was not how he preferred to unwind.

As Daniel had made his way toward them, the crowds parted a bit and he noticed Jack O'Neill leaning against the wall beside Cameron. He'd been part of SG-1 before his promotion and had since retired to be a highly respected civilian consultant to their program like Daniel. Military heads had almost twisted clean off their shoulders in shock when General Jack O'Neill had declared his resignation, and puzzlement had been the sensation of the day when he'd announced that he wouldn't actually be leaving the program. It hadn't made sense, not to anyone outside of their tightly-knit team anyway, and Cameron, the newest member, was only now beginning to understand his idol's decision as Jack started showing up at all their private function and never strayed far from their blonde astrophysicist.

Before he reached his friends, Major Ferretti who'd just recently been promoted to Lt. Col. Ferretti – one of the reasons for this party – had accosted him and thrown an arm over his shoulders to lean in and greet Daniel. From the man's breath, Daniel guessed he'd been partying for a few hours already.

"Dr. Jackson!" he greeted loudly and swayed a bit.

"Ferretti." he returned with a wince as the man tripped over himself and jerked Daniel a few feet sideways to steady himself.

"Congratulations on your promotion." Daniel said, hoping to get to his friends soon.

Gleeful eyes looked at him and Ferretti gave him a firm pat on the back.

"Thank you, doctor." he smiled "And many congrats to you for finding that thing that, you know…" Ferretti faltered and tried to simulate the artifact Daniel had found with his hands.

"You know this party is for both of us." he slurred to Daniel conspiratorially. "And I got enough women here to share." he chuckled sweeping his arm wide to indicate the throngs of what Daniel now understood to be professional prostitutes.

"I got 'em at a real good price too. Group rate an' all. And they're not allowed--their boss won't let them drink hiccup on duty, so you know, they won't puke if things get…interesting, you know?" he giggled and butt his head on Daniel's shoulder before shooting up again with serious eyes.

"Danny, can I call you Danny?" he asked but didn't wait for an answer. "Danny, I want you to look over there, by the bar. You see her?" Ferretti asked pointing shamelessly at the women at the bar.

"Which one?" Daniel asked tiredly and Ferretti turned wide, incredulous eyes at him.

"Which one, Danny? The gorgeous one in the blue bikini. The long black hair, soft creamy skin, big blue eyes and legs for miiiillles." he described her breathlessly before facing Daniel again with a cheesy grin.

"Her name's Valerie Johnson and she is soooo good, Danny. Had her twice already." he boasted and Daniel felt sick at the thought of the undoubtedly beautiful woman being used like that.

"Hey, Danny, hey." Ferretti prodded him with his beer "Danny, you can have her too, not for the whole night but you can try her out, it's on me." he offered the archeologist generously.

Daniel shrugged the soldier's arm off his shoulder and gave him a tight smile.

"Thanks, Ferretti, that's very nice of you but I think I should really go say hi to the guys now." he declined gracefully.

Ferretti looked at him blankly with owl eyes, seemingly confused before brightening.

"Oh yeaaah, you…yeah…and SG-1, yeah go, go. I'll keep her warm for you." he winked, laughing at his own joke and then stumbling back to the call-girl he was lusting after. Daniel took a cleansing breath to shake away the feeling of filth this celebration was forcing deep into the layers of his skin and made his way towards his team.

He had spent the rest of the night with them, drinking too much if his head this morning was any indication, but thankfully, he was alone in his bed. He knew he couldn't hold his liquor and feared the day that his teammates wouldn't be there to keep him out of trouble.

He sighed and looked at his clock. It read 5:33 am. Daniel frowned, that couldn't be right. He remembered seeing 2:09 A.M. on his clock before falling asleep and he had a hangover now so he should be in a drunken coma for at least another six or seven hours. What had woken him up?

He stayed silent in his bed but he couldn't hear anything, the party had obviously been put to rest and Daniel hoped he wouldn't find any naked couples on his way to breakfast in a few hours. He looked to his left to see the sky was lightening through his French doors. His room was more luxurious than the common soldiers'; all of SG-1's rooms were higher class, Jack's too. Those were the frills seniority and risking life and limb for the good of the nation got you.

Daniel couldn't get back to sleep so he got up to get some fresh air instead. His bare feet made no noise as he grabbed his robe and open the doors to step out onto his east-facing balcony. He leaned there, against the stone ledge, looking out onto the expanse of the mansion's estate, trying to soak up the peace of the morning to replace the chaotic depravity of last night. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, holding the crisp air in his lungs and almost choking on it when a horrible sound emerged from his room.

His head whipped around and he looked into his dark room with apprehension. All was quiet again. He took a few steps forward into his room and listened attentively. There it was again, that sound…someone was retching in his room. He noticed suddenly a light peeking under the door of his private bathroom and sighed in disgust. Some drunken idiot had mistaken his room for theirs and, by the sound of it, had made themselves quite at home.

Well he wanted sleep and despite his sympathy for the sick person, he intended to do so in his room alone and without the disgusting soundtrack. Daniel opened the door and both he and the bathroom's occupant looked shocked at the other's presence.

It wasn't a soldier, like Daniel had expected, it was one of the girls Ferretti had…hired. And he actually recognized this one, it was the woman Ferretti had generously offered him the night before. Valerie Johnson in the blue bikini. With the black hair, blue eyes, pale skin and legs for miles. Except that now she was huddled on his bathroom tiles, in a satin robe, her hair pulled back into a ponytail and her skin looking slightly greener than he recalled. Her eyes were still blue and weren't as red-rimmed as one would expect from a sick woman but they were haunted for a moment before clearing and brightening in a manner that felt entirely too artificial.

"Well hello there." she greeted all too cheerfully for a woman who'd just been heaving.

"Hello." Daniel finally spoke after his stupefaction had past. "Are you okay?"

Her eyebrow rose with an air of innocent ignorance and he motioned to the toilet she was kneeling beside. She laughed carelessly.

"Oh that. No, I'm fine, I must just have had a teensy bit too much to drink last night. I'm sorry if I woke you, I was under the impression that this room was empty." she apologized in a surprisingly sultry voice tinged heavily with an enchanting accent.

Daniel frowned, recalling his conversation with the drunken Ferretti the night before.

"I thought your boss forbade you from drinking." he mused and paused when a flicker of fear shot through her eyes before disappearing. She got up from the floor gingerly and moved to the sink, retrieving a bottle of mouth wash from her robe's pocket.

"Well, what she doesn't know won't hurt me, now will it?" she winked mischievously at him and raised the bottle to her lips.

She gargled and Daniel leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms and speaking again.

"No, I don't think you drank last night." he countered intuitively. She spit out and grinned at him.

"Were you watching me yesterday, darling? You should have come over, we could have had all sorts of fun." her eyebrows quirked naughtily and she took another swig of the mouth wash.

"No, no, I'm not really into…what you offer." he tried to be politically correct but he was getting flustered now. "Not that I don't like…what you offer, it's more the method…of offering… and you're avoiding the question. Why were you throwing up if you aren't sick?" he asked seriously. Her eyes flit down with shame and she faced him again with a distressed expression.

"Fine, you've caught me." she took in a deep breath and released it dramatically "I'm bulimic." she confessed and pursed her lips anxiously. His shocked eyes stared at her before something clicked in his mind and he glared at her.

"It's 5:30 in the morning, the kitchen isn't open yet. You didn't drink and you haven't eaten." he continued to expose her lie. She looked indignant before smirking.

"I had a chocolate bar in my purse." she countered smugly.

"You didn't bring a purse." he bluffed, not knowing whether that was true or not but he suspected he was right as her eyes grew wide with apprehension. She tried to make her way past him but he stopped her.

"Listen, just drop it. You don't know me, I don't know you. You have no business prying into my affairs." she told him sternly, trying to push him out of her way.

"You're throwing up in my bathroom and I do know who you are. You're Valerie Johnson." he said haughtily, not budging from his place in the doorway.

"Wrong." she said in a triumphant voice and shoved at him again. He rolled his eyes.

"Look, nobody throws up for no reason. Did Ferretti or one of the other guys hurt you? Did they make you take anything? They were pretty off their asses last night." he asked anxiously, looking her over for signs of abuse.

This stranger was looking at her with such concern and he didn't even know her. She was a whore-for-hire, he shouldn't care so much. Any other guy would have simply let her leave, happy to be rid of a sick woman. She sighed and stopped pushing him.

"No, nobody hurt me, and nobody made me take anything. Your friends, however 'off their asses' they might have been, are actually more courteous than the majority of the people I've…met." she finished lamely.

"So you _are_ sick. You should see our doctor, you might have some bug or something." he said with a frown, automatically reaching a hand to her forehead to check for a fever.

His large hand was on her cool forehead and she couldn't help but stare up at him in wonderment. This man, this complete stranger, was anxious over her. Her heart melted and she wished fervently that she _was_ sick. He might leave his hand there or offer to nurse her to health or something.

"You don't feel hot." he said, sounding puzzled and she couldn't help grinning lasciviously.

"That's because you're not touching the right places, darling." she said suggestively, reaching a hand to stroke the slight stubble along his jaw. Even in the very dim light of morning she could see his cheeks bloom pink and she could have swooned at his charming innocence. His hand fell from her forehead and his eyes shifted away nervously but he didn't step back or allow her room to escape the bathroom.

"Seriously, you should see Dr. Lam. I'm sure she can get you all better in no time." he told her, finally turning from the bathroom to fetch his shoes and day clothes.

She closed the bathroom light and pocketed her bottle of mouth wash.

"Listen, soldier boy, I appreciate the concern, but really, I'm not sick. I'm in the peak of health, honestly." she smirked and sauntered up to him, removing the good shirt in his hands that he'd grabbed from his dresser. "Would you care to find out for yourself?"

"Uh-" Daniel looked startled but his mind buzzed with another possibility. "Oh my god, are you…pregnant?" he breathed quietly imagining the consequences getting pregnant from one of her clients would have on her. Unless she had a boyfriend on the side, he had no reason to suspect she wouldn't. She was an attractive woman, surely with her skills, getting a date would be an effortless task. Oh, that sounded derogatory. His musings were halted as she frowned at him.

"No, I'm not pregnant! We have very strict rules on protection, you know." she told him, feeling slightly insulted that he'd think she wouldn't have the foresight to prevent such a possibility. She might not have the most reputable profession but she wasn't reckless or an idiot. She sat down on the edge of his bed in a huff with her arms crossed and he immediately felt contrite for having spoken in the first place. He sat down beside her, keeping a good foot between them.

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to wonder why you could possibly be throwing up and now I'm…completely out of ideas." he tried to explain how his mind worked and she gave a small mirthless laugh.

"Trust me, you don't want to know why I was being sick." she said quietly, she should just leave this man's room and return to her client but…well she really didn't want to. There was a sense of peace here, a safety she didn't have the luxury of experiencing very often. He turned to face her, concern and determination etched on his face.

"What if I said I did?" he asked sincerely and she looked into his eyes to search for any hidden motives this stranger could have for prying into her personal life. To her great astonishment, she found only genuine curiosity and sympathy? She lowered her head and closed her eyes for a moment, tightening her robe around her body and making sure the hem reached her thighs as she thought of the reason for which she'd had the compulsion to walk into his bathroom and heave the contents of her stomach.

He saw Valerie, no, apparently she _wasn't_ Valerie Johnson…he saw the woman pull her flimsy satin robe around herself and berated himself for his inconsideration.

"Are you cold?" he asked already halfway to his French doors to pull them shut.

"No, please don't close them, I like the morning air, it's refreshing." she latched onto the distraction from the conversation with a soft smile. He nodded and left the doors open instead made a detour to his dresser, pulling out a sweatshirt and a pair of sweat pants. He very much doubted the women had brought overnight bags with a change of clothes, he wondered where she even grabbed the robe she wore now. He returned to the bed and offered the clothes to her shyly, his heart skipping a beat when she looked at him with eyes that shone with amazement and gratitude.

"Thank you." she said softly and rose from the bed to change. As the robe slipped past her shoulders, Daniel was suddenly made aware that it was the only piece of clothing she'd been wearing and he swiftly turned around in embarrassment, feeling a warm flush rising up his neck. By the quiet giggle behind him, he knew she'd seen the red tinge climbing as well and he was powerless to prevent the blush from infesting his cheeks.

A delicate hand on his arm told him to turn as she'd finished changing. The sight of her drowning in his oversized clothes tugged hard at something in his chest and he took the robe she offered him.

"Could you give this back to the blonde woman you were with at the party yesterday?" she asked him and laughed when his eyes bulged out of his head.

"This is Sam's??" he asked, looking at the robe in his hands like it was a plague-ridden cloth. The woman nodded. The thought of the woman he considered a sister dressing in this practically non-existent robe was not doing good thing to his psyche and he placed the offending material on the chair near his door for later.

He turned back to the bed but found it empty. Apparently he'd taken too long staring awkwardly at the satin robe and his companion had moved to the lounging sofa on his balcony. It struck him as odd that she didn't seem the least bit inclined to leave his room but he certainly wasn't complaining…though he probably should be.

She was sitting on the cushion-covered wicker loveseat the previous owners had left. She sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, looking out at the rising sun mesmerized. Daniel hesitated before sitting in the space beside her.

"My name's Daniel by the way. Daniel Jackson." he said feeling like an idiot for having spent the last twenty minutes in her company without knowing her name. She apparently felt the same way as she ducked her head and smiled at him.

"I'm Vala. Vala Mal Doran." she said, putting her hand out to shake his. Their hands were warm against each other and neither felt absolutely inclined to let go. Daniel opened his mouth though, and the spell was broken.

"So who's Valerie Johnson?" he asked puzzled and she snorted before answering with a notably more American accent than she'd been using so far.

"Valerie Johnson is an all-American girl from Iowa. She was a cheerleader and now she's doing this to pay her way through graduate school." she said with a slight bitterness. Daniel was confused.

"Qetesh, the woman I work for, decided that my looks weren't exotic enough for my accent and so gave me a new personality to better appeal to her clients." Vala explained nonchalantly.

"Oh." Daniel had no better words for the evidently twisted scheme of her life.

"Yep." she popped her lips and they sat there in comfortable quiet for a while.

"Do you – Do you mind my asking…" Daniel started uncomfortably. He was very content to sit beside her and stay quiet but his curiosity had other ideas.

"You want to know why I'd live such a life." she finished softly and he nodded.

"Is it like the story? You're paying your way through school?" he asked half-hopefully and she began to laugh.

"No, it's nothing quite so virtuous, if such a word could ever be applied to my life." she said sorely, indulging in the rare moment of self-loathing before continuing.

"My mother…step-mother actually…Adria…" she began stiltedly before shaking her head and starting over.

"My _real_ mother died when I was a teenager. Within a year, my father married the mistress he'd had on the side for years, Adria. However, Adria had borrowed an inordinate amount of money from Qetesh to elevate her _previous_ husband to a higher position of power in their government. Then, when he died suddenly, leaving everything to his children from a _former_ wife, she went to work for Qetesh at the house to pay her debt. My father met her there while I was very young and while he was still very married to my mother, and fell madly in love with her fabricated personality." Vala said irritably.

"Anyway, when my mother died, it gave my father the chance to marry his 'one true love'. The only problem was that Adria hadn't worked off her debt yet, she still had eleven years of service to fulfill and Qetesh wasn't willing to let her go. For a year they negotiated when finally Adria got a brilliant idea. You see, Qetesh doesn't care for people, Daniel, she only cares for her precious profit. So Adria offered her a profit: me." she spoke softly and Daniel felt bile rising in his throat.

"She offered her _my_ body for fifteen years against _her_ debt of eleven and she and my father went on their honeymoon while I became Qetesh's newest possession." she finished, her hands waving to represent her father leaving her.

Daniel sat stunned beside her, no words coming to his mind. She didn't look sad, she looked numb with the smallest hints of fury in her eyes. Her hands, however, were curled tightly around her knees as she stared sightlessly into the beautiful sunrise.

"I'm-" Daniel started to speak but Vala cut him off with a shake of her head. She knew there weren't any good words to follow the tale.

"That's why I was sick." she said softly, facing him after a long silence. "Every so often… it just gets to be too much. I just feel…too spent, too trashed and too disgusted to keep it all in." she whispered despondently, finally answering his original question, before returning to silence. "It's getting better actually." she brightened wryly "I used to get sick after every single client, now it only happens maybe once a month." she shrugged and fell quiet again. She didn't want to look at him and she didn't want him to speak. She just wanted…to be heard, she supposed.

Eons passed them by and neither spoke but they both began to feel the effects of the long, sleepless hours. Their sides were touching now and Vala's legs were folded under her sideways, causing her to lean into Daniel. Neither knew how it had happened but neither minded. The sun warmed their skin and the chirping birds lulled them gently into sleep.

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When Daniel awoke next, it was to a bright sky and a heavy weight against his shoulder. His cheek rested comfortably on silky black hair and the feeling contrasted greatly with the painful clenching of his back against the wicker furniture. He was still sitting upright but he'd been pushed against the arm of the sofa as Vala stretched her legs out on her side. His right arm had wound itself around her warm body and his hand had instinctively starting stroking the material of the sweater she was wearing when he'd awoken. His subtle movements drew her out of sleep but she didn't move, opting instead to cherish the relaxed pose for longer.

"What time is it?" she finally mumbled into his chest and he smiled, looking up into the blue sky.

"Well, I'm not a naturalist but the sun is over the house now so I'm guessing it's somewhere around noon." he told her, his hand wandering down her arm to stroke the skin of her wrist absent-mindedly. Vala jumped up on the sofa.

"Noon?" she looked around worriedly for a clock. She ran into his room and he felt cold despite the heat of the sun.

"It's 11.30!" she exclaimed in relief as he joined her in his room.

"What's wrong?" he asked as she flopped onto his bed with a sigh.

"Nothing's _wrong_." she said "I just-It's time for us to leave soon."

"Us?" he asked and she sat up.

"Us. Me and the other girls. Back to the house." she explained.

Daniel stood before the bed dismayed and angered at the thought of Vala returning to the life she'd been leading. He'd only known her a few hours but he felt an irresistible pull toward her that had nothing to do with her blatant sexuality and more to do with the way she looked in his clothes and the way he'd felt her lips moving against his shirt when she'd spoken into his chest. He wanted to hold her, lose himself in her, hell he wanted to get to know her.

"You don't have to go back there, you could stay here." With me. She shook her head mournfully.

"I've thought of escape before, Daniel. And my parents weren't exactly upstanding citizens, I know exactly how to go about escaping and I could probably get myself out of the state with a new identity before long." she began "But Qetesh has contacts like no others I've ever know. She has people _everywhere_ and the last two girls to leave did not make it back in one piece. A life of self-loathing is far more appealing than a life of constant fear anyway." she tried to joke.

"We can protect you, I'm sure my superiors would understand." Daniel tried.

"And what? Stay indoors with guards for the rest of my life?" she shot back before softening her face into a sweet smile that broke his heart. "I appreciate your concern, Daniel, but you don't need to worry about me. I'm nobody, just forget about today and meeting me and you can go about your life without another thought." she counseled him and he frowned at her.

"I can't just do that Vala. I can't just forget I met you, forget that you're going back to a horrible existence. I can't just push this out of my mind and pretend like you're not out there suffering somewhere." he told her fiercely and she got up from the bed to face him.

"Well you'll have to Daniel." she told him with finality "Besides, I only have about 300 000$ to repay which translates into roughly three years left to serve and then I'm free." she told him with a forced smile and Daniel scowled.

"You shouldn't have to-" he broke off in frustration and she stepped closer to him, wrapping her hands around his clenched fists.

"But I do." she said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Daniel." she said morosely and he finally looked down at her in question. "I'm sorry I told you all of this. I was being selfish and I should have never-" Daniel didn't give the chance to finish as he shook his hands free of hers and pulled her roughly into his arms. She stood stiffly in his hold with utter shock. He was hugging her? She'd been kissed, stroked, licked and violated by men over her years of service but this…this was an intimacy she'd rarely known and it took her breath away.

Daniel held her tightly to him for long moments before his doubts started creeping up on him. He'd wanted to comfort her so badly, wanted to lift the guilt from her shoulders, so he'd hugged her…but she remained frozen like a statue against him. Finally she seemed to relax and raised her arms tentatively from their position at her sides. He felt her touch on his back fleetingly before it disappeared. It was as if she was afraid of him.

"It's okay." Daniel whispered into her hair and not a beat later her arms closed around him like a vice and she buried her head into his shoulder. He tightened his arms around her body in response.

"I'll save you from this, Vala. I swear I will." he vowed and she broke gently out of their embrace. She looked up at him gently, with an indulgent smile that told him she believed his sincerity but knew it would never happen. She leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips so chaste that he'd never believed she was capable of the sensuality for which she was lusted after.

"I have to go." she said quietly when she ended the kiss. "I'll send you your clothes back."

"Keep them." he said distractedly and she nodded softly before leaving the room, closing the door with a gentle click leaving Daniel with the empty room.

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Please let me know what you think!! I'll keep writing it because it's in my head but I won't post it if it's too icky or disturbing for the fans.


	2. Earnestness

**Title: **Perchance to Live  
**Author: **Milena D.  
**Rating:** T+ for now  
**Genre:** Romance/Action/Adventure, etc. Daniel/Vala all the way ;)  
**SPOILERS:** Just for episode 10x01 "Flesh and Blood" and only for one line. That might change but I'll give a warning if it does.  
**Summary:** Completely AU plot containing the characters, villains and certain mythologies from the show. DV and slight SJ but it's _very_ slight.

**Author's Note #1:** Sorry for the grand delay but I have now completed MoL so I'll have more time to spend on this now D Hope you enjoy!

**Author's Note #2: **Thanks to Cat from GW's DV thread for reading this over for me before posting!!

**Author's Note #3: **Just to clarify, Abydos does not exist in this fic, and Vala never had a daughter. The Orici mentioned is someone else.

**Disclaimer:** I own the plot, unoriginal as it may be Don't own the characters.

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Chapter 2: Earnestness  
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Retired General Jack O'Neill walked comfortably down the hallways of the new base and headquarters of the SGC. He liked it despite the drab colours and absence of windows, his military mind appreciated the inaccessibility and security that the base – located under a mountain – could provide. Granted it took half an hour to see the sky again but to him it seemed a fair trade for the continued secrecy of their organization.

He hadn't founded the SGC but he'd served under the men that had. He'd been recruited out of the special forces to provide security to a bunch of scientists when he'd been a Lt. Colonel and although the idea seemed boring and slightly ludicrous given his background, his superiors had assured him that it would be the perfect position for him. They'd been right.

The SG operation, or Sine Gloria (which Daniel had told him meant "Without Glory" during his briefing), was officially a large group of scientists – though Daniel was always moaning about how many new soldiers arrived everyday – working to unravel the mystery of their world before the next apocalypse. It had sounded ridiculous the first time he'd read the mission statement but he now knew first hand that this business was the most serious of its kind.

As Jack had already known since his childhood through schooling and stories, the planet Earth had once been a place of fantastic innovation and technology with multitudes of different cultures all intermingled together. Over half a millennia ago however, something catastrophic had taken place over their world resulting in the extinguishment of more than two thirds of the total population. Along with the people, most of the technological advancements, scientific knowledge and cultural histories had been buried under the rubble of the destroyed globe, completely forgotten as the survivors strived to regain some semblance of their lives. As the centuries passed, many of the old treasures were found and technological breakthroughs once again soared quickly enough to bring them out of the Dark Ages and back to a society that some believed resembled that of the marvelous one that existed over 600 years before theirs, a civilization that scholars had taken to calling the Ancients.

All of this information had bored Jack to tears in the initial briefing; he'd heard the praise of the Ancients sung since he was a boy, but when Daniel had gotten to the part about the purpose of the SG operation, his involvement had suddenly seemed so much more interesting.

Jack and everyone he'd ever known (with the exception of Teal'c) had been born and raised on his continent, Tau. Goa, the continent to the south of theirs was attached to them by a tiny strip of land that wasn't small enough in their opinion. The leaders of Goa were ruthless toward their own people and all others, they aimed for total domination of the world and, naturally, this went against some of the more fundamental ideals of the still-new council of Tau. To make matters worse, the continent just east of Tau was inhabited by religious fanatics led by a matriarchal lineage whose eldest female, known only as the Orici, ruled and they, like the Goa'uld, aimed for domination of the world but they hid their intentions behind the philanthropic veil of fear for the souls of all those not faithful to Origin, their religion.

According to archeological finds, the Ori and Goa'uld lived and thrived at the same time as the Ancient Tau'ri which would indicate that their populations had been just as affected by the global catastrophe but they too seemed to be back on their feet relatively quickly. The council of Tau had convened and examined all previous data on the Ancients, they came to the conclusion that the three nations of the world must have been at war and that it must have escalated to globally destructive proportions for the same results to have been found on all continents. This had sent everyone concerned into a panic, especially since they knew the Goa'uld and the Ori had quickly rebuilt their societies and their technology to levels already exceeding that of the Tau'ri. This conclusion, to avoid panicking an entire nation, had been kept a secret from all but those who worked on it and _that_ was exactly what the SG operation was.

The SGC (as it was being called now that they'd found a permanent base) was responsible for searching for the technology of the Ancients and carrying out covert missions of reconnaissance on the alien continents. In fact it was on a mission to Goa that SG-1 (of which Jack was the military leader at the time) had stumbled across Teal'c. He had defected from the life of slavery and had proven invaluable in both military service and information about his people. The entirety of the SGC was kept top secret, hence their call-name "Without Glory", though most of the technological breakthroughs Tau experienced came from an artifact or plan of the tools of the Ancient that they'd dug up and passed along the appropriate channels.

So the mission statement that had seemed so ludicrous at first now served as a constant reminder of the importance of this base, of these people that Jack and the rest of the military personnel were charged with keeping safe. The scientists like his Lt. Col. Samantha Carter who would chew you out for calling her "Doctor" instead of her rank; she's the one who was in charge of most things technological that the teams recovered. Dr. Daniel Jackson was in charge of translating various alien texts to help Sam with the function and purpose of those artifacts they found; he was also the scientist who'd been a pain in the ass all week. He was one of Jack's closest friends but lately he'd avoided all company unless ordered to appear somewhere, he'd been locked up in his office researching and translating the Ori documents they'd found (and celebrated) just last week. Jack was tired of it and the rest of the team was getting worried with his newly reclusive attitudes so he'd been appointed to drag the young man out of his funk…something he figured was easier said than done.

"Hey Dannyboy!" Jack shouted enthusiastically from the doorway to Daniel's office but the man addressed didn't deign to offer the greeting _or_ the greeter much of his attention.

"Jack." he replied simply, his nose still buried in his translations. Jack ignored the blatant disregard and made his way into his friend's office with ease.

"Whatcha up to?" he asked lightly.

"Work." Daniel replied concisely "That thing you avoid like the plague."

"Ah yes…that." Jack said, his disgust for paperwork evident in his voice.

Jack was silent for a few minutes, content to toy with the latest artifacts they'd found. He knew his calm would bother his friend more than any noisy chatter could and he was just counting the seconds until Daniel snapped under the invisible pressure.

If experience had anything to show for itself…3…2…1…

"What?" Daniel asked forcefully, finally lifting his head to see his friend. Jack was dressed in civilian clothing instead of the SGC jumpers they all wore. He was also wearing his patented look of innocence as he faced him.

"What? I didn't say anything." he defended himself.

"I know you didn't, that's when I fear you the most, when you're quiet." Daniel glared at him.

"You know, Daniel, I was going to invite you to this restaurant that Mitchell found yesterday, O'Malley's, but if you're going to be crabby I think I'll rescind that offer…that I haven't extended to you yet…" Jack said, looking confused at his own words "I preemptively uninvite you from coming with us to O'Malley's…yes."

"That's fine, I didn't want to go anyway." Daniel retorted nonchalantly, returning his attention to his work. Jack frowned. It wasn't unusual for Daniel to be more attracted to his work than to social outings but he'd been acting like a hermit all week and it was time for him to rejoin civilization.

"Alright, you can come but you buy the first round." Jack offered. Daniel didn't look up.

"Thanks, but I still don't feel like it." he said coolly.

"What's up with you lately?" Jack finally demanded "You didn't come to team night on Wednesday, you're barely ever seen in the commissary and the guards tell me you haven't been back at the mansion in almost an entire week? How can the beds on base be more comfortable than your spacious suite at the house?"

Daniel lay his papers down and frowned irately at his friend. He knew he'd been more than a little testy lately and he knew why, he just didn't think it was anyone else's business. Jack didn't have to know that he didn't leave his work because he'd have to think of how he was helpless to help the raven-haired beauty who'd haunted his dreams since he'd met her. Nobody needed to know that it hurt too much to sleep in his room at the mansion knowing that's where Vala had spent her last free night before returning to a life of degradation and misery.

"Nothing's wrong with me." he said finally.

"You can't pull that with me, Daniel, I've known you too long. And you know I wouldn't say anything but the General is thinking of postponing SG-1's missions and sending you for a psych evaluation in light of your sudden bout of depression." Jack said, embellishing the facts grotesquely. Those words, as fabricated as they might be, caught Daniel's attention.

"He wouldn't do that." he said skeptically. Jack shrugged and played with a little stone hippo on the counter.

"You know he'll have to if you start affecting missions. Look at you, you can barely focus when you're out of the office. What's going on?" Jack pressed.

Daniel stayed quiet for a while, wondering how much he should tell him. It's not like Jack could help him. Apparently he thought about the situation too long because the retired General spoke again.

"This all started the day after the party Ferretti threw right? That's when you bailed on the mansion and started spending your nights here." Jack questioned and Daniel reluctantly nodded after a large sigh.

"So…what? I know it was over the top and pretty…distasteful…but Ferretti and his gang have been chewed out by Landry about that and I very much doubt we'll see any festivities of that sort there again." Jack assured him.

"It's not about Ferretti, not…_directly_ anyway." Daniel finally granted his friend.

"Alright, that's progress. So what did Ferrett do _indirectly_ to piss you off so much that it drove you from your own home?" Jack asked.

"It's nothing he _did_, it's who he…invited."

My god, this was like pulling teeth from a chicken. Jack sighed.

"So who did he invite? There were marines, us and prostitutes." Daniel bobbed his head deeply at his words and Jack's jaw fell to the floor. Daniel!? His Daniel?? Their geeky, upstanding citizen, stoutly moral archeologist Daniel? No.

"Daniel, you didn't!" Jack gasped, almost scandalized. Daniel frowned in confusion before understanding dawned and he shook his head quickly with exasperation.

"No! God, what do you take me for?" he demanded and Jack lifted his hands in protest.

"Well you're the one nodding suggestively! You're a freakin' linguist, use your words would you?" Jack chastised and Daniel sat back in his chair with an air of defeat.

"Fine." he sighed and the ticking clock on the wall was the only sound to be heard in the room.

"Well?" Jack prodded impatiently.

"I'm thinking." Daniel replied. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I can see that, thank you. You're supposed to be talking though, just thought I should maybe remind you." he said glibly. Daniel's blue eyes narrowed at him but began his tale nonetheless.

"There was a girl, a woman, at the party." he began haltingly.

"One of the prostitutes." Jack interrupted. He could see Daniel took offense to the term but to his surprise, he nodded.

"Yeah. You might have seen her, she had black hair, blue eyes?" Daniel said with a hint of a smile as he remembered how soft her hair had been against his cheek and how amazingly wide her eyes had gotten when he'd handed her his sweater and sweatpants. Jack's shrug brought his out of his memories and he continued.

"Anyway, she woke me up a couple of hours after I'd gone to bed. She…came into my room thinking it was empty." he said. The real reason she'd been there wasn't an important detail, not for Jack anyway.

"Anyway, she was cold so I lent her some of my clothes, she'd been wearing one of Sam's silk nightgowns!" Daniel said, he knew he sounded like a gossip but the traumatizing experience of holding his 'sister's' nightie lingered over him. Jack, however, didn't seem the least bit surprised…in fact he had a dreamy kind of smile over his face. Daniel rolled his eyes, right, wrong audience for this shock-factor.

"Which one?" Jack asked with a grin.

"Jack…focus." Daniel said when Jack didn't show any signs of leaving his dreamworld.

"Right, sorry, clothes…you lent them to her, continue." Jack said, motioning him to continue his story. Daniel paused a moment to consider the level of attention his former superior was giving him before reprising his tale.

"Long story short, we talked, we slept and…I didn't want her to leave." he said, forgetting his annoyance toward his friend as the memory of the emptiness her absence had left him with returned to him.

"So you _did_ sleep with her?" his gray haired friend asked incredulously.

"No! I mean…we slept, you know as in 'entered the state of unconsciousness' together." he reproached Jack before softening "On the sofa on my balcony, while the sun was rising."

Jack watched Daniel's eyes lose their focus with incredulity.

"Right…" he drawled, unimpressed. "So?"

"So," Daniel returned with frustration "we woke up and she left. She left to go back to that place where her body is repeatedly used for profit and I-I didn't want her to. I wanted her to stay but she wouldn't. I promised I'd get her out of there and it's almost been a week now!"

"Daniel," Jack started more delicately than usual "she's a professional call-girl, not _my_ career of choice but it's obviously hers. Why are you torturing yourself over trying to get her out?"

Daniel shook his head with closed eyes.

"No, it's _not_ hers, it's not her choice and never was." he enthused "She was _sold_ into it, _sold_ to pay off her step-mother's debt. She doesn't belong there, Jack, and I need to get her out."

Jack sat back and watched the shadows of anguish pass over his young friend's face with sadness. Sadness not for his distress but rather for his naivety.

"Daniel," Jack said sympathetically "you were played."

"What?" Daniel asked quickly with a frown.

"You were played!" Jack repeated "She played you, fed you her _obviously contrived_ sob story and pulled all your sympathy strings. It happens, mostly to nice guys like you. She got herself into a bad situation and now she's roped you in to take care of it."

Daniel was shaking his head again, he'd been doing it throughout Jack's response.

"I don't believe that and I'm not as simple as you might think, Jack. I've considered that possibility and I'm telling you that's not the case with her." Daniel replied passionately before quieting "You weren't there, Jack, you didn't see her. She was being honest, I know it, and I made her a promise that she didn't believe but I need to come through for her."

"I'm telling you this is a mistake." Jack said with resignation.

"You wouldn't think that if you'd met her." Daniel replied with determination.

Jack thought about that for a while and nodded.

"Okay, well let's fix that." he said.

"What?"

Jack didn't reply, instead he picked up Daniel's phone and dialed a familiar number. Daniel gestured his confusion but Jack waved him off.

"Lou, it's Jack." he greeted Ferretti. Daniel frowned with remnant anger and disgust at the man who'd boasted of his times with Vala.

"Listen, the girls you hired last week, where'd you find them?" Jack asked, listening to his friend's response. "None of your damn business, what's the address?"

Jack jotted down the coordinates on the corner of Daniel's paper and tore it off before hanging up the phone without so much as a 'good-bye'.

"Alright, let's go." Jack said, rising from his chair. Daniel got up to with wide eyes.

"What? Where? Now?" he asked.

"Yes, now. I want to meet this woman and you're obviously dying to see her again so let's go." he replied, waving the piece of paper with the address in the air.

Daniel's heart pounded at the thought of seeing Vala again. She'd been on his mind all week and he wanted nothing more than to go to her but, at the same time, he feared meeting her again. He had come up with no plan on how to free her from Qetesh's possession and he didn't want to bolster her belief that it would never happen by arriving to see her empty handed.

"Daniel…" Jack sing-songed from the doorway.

"Yeah," he replied distractedly "I have to change first."

"Then let's go." Jack said with raised eyebrows, sweeping his arm into the hallway.

With a last pause, Daniel did as he was told.

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"Wow…snazzy." Jack said, impressed with the magnitude and elegance of the mansion before them.

"This…sounds like the kind of place Vala was describing, or rather the kind of place I'd expect her…boss to pick." Daniel remarked as they walked towards the eight foot tall, carved doors.

"Vala," Jack repeated "that's her name?"

"Um yeah…I didn't tell you?"

"No, no you didn't."

"Huh." Daniel said simply as they climbed the few stairs and stood before the doors.

"Should we ring the doorbell?" Jack asked.

"I don't know." Daniel replied, looking around for anyone.

"Not much security." Jack remarked as he noted the absence of security guards or cameras. "You'd think you'd at least have a guard dog for a place like this."

"From what I understand of Qetesh – that's the boss – security wouldn't be a big issue. Everyone's too afraid to leave and anyone who stole from here would no doubt be hunted down." Daniel said as he experimentally pulled on the door handle. The door opened easily and the guys shared a shrug before going in.

They stepped onto lush carpet of intricate designs as soon as they moved into the mansion. There were golden frames with beautiful artwork along the walls outside of the entranceway but both were hesitant to move any further in.

"So…are we sure we want to be walking in uninvited into this woman's…home?" Jack said quietly, feeling his back to confirm that he'd brought his weapon.

"No…" Daniel responded before venturing forth cautiously.

"Okay then." Jack said, rolling his eyes and following.

In silence they inched forward, a large staircase appearing to their left, the décor becoming more extravagant the further they walked and the ominous weight of the soundless house getting heavier as there was still no one in sight.

"You'd think such a big place would have tons of people scurrying around." Jack whispered.

"I know." Daniel replied just as quietly.

"Can I help you?"

The men jumped and turned on their heels to find the voice behind them. There was a young blonde woman, no older than twenty, placing a bucket of strawberries on the small table along the side of the wall and taking off her apron to place on top of it.

"Um…hi." Daniel said. "I think you might be actually. We're looking for someone."

The woman looked them over and grinned.

"Only one?" she grinned before moving to the staircase. "You'd have to book that with Qetesh, her office is upstairs, I can show you."

"Uh no, no that won't be necessary." Daniel said quickly, not wanting to meet that particular woman at the moment.

"We're not looking to hire, we're just…looking." Jack said.

The young woman nodded.

"Qetesh has us all on file, you're free to browse before choosing someone and you don't have to sign anything before actually meeting whoever you choose." she said reassuringly, again moving for the stairs.

"Um, no, listen," Daniel repeated louder "we're looking for someone in particular, just to-to talk to, not for…anything else."

The girl's eyes grew wide and she scurried back to them, looking around for prying ears.

"Would you like to say it any louder? I don't think Qetesh quite heard you." she glared at him. "If she found out someone was entertaining 'friends', the girl you're looking for would be in a _lot_ of trouble."

Daniel frowned.

"Why…?"

"_Because_, there are strict rules not to socialize with _anyone_ who _isn't_ a paying customer." she hissed before relaxing. "You're lucky I found you before any of the guards did. Who are you looking for?"

"What? You _just_ told us she'd get in trouble and now you want us to tell you her name?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Well _I'm _not going to squeal." she said, rolling her eyes "We look after each other here, cover for each other. Besides, if I get you in, she owes me and favours are always good to have around this place."

Daniel and Jack eyed her lopsided grin with mistrust but they'd come all this way…

"Fine, but if you cross us…just…don't, alright?" Jack warned her. She grinned in amusement but nodded.

"We're looking for Vala." Daniel said, his heart clenching with fear at the thought of this girl taking the name straight to Qetesh. Instead of rushing up the stairs though, the girl's eyebrows rose high and a smile tugged at her lips.

"Well well, there aren't many people who know that particular name of hers." she remarked with a strange smile. "What's your name?"

"Daniel…Jackson and this is Jack." he replied hesitantly.

"Daniel…" the girl echoed, eyeing him appraisingly "nice to meet you. My name's Denya."

"Hi." Daniel replied shortly. "So will you take us to Vala?"

"Of course, right this way." she said, her grin still firmly in place as she led them past the staircase and further into the house.

"Why's this place so quiet?" Jack asked after a few moments of silence. Denya looked over her shoulder and looked at him like his lightbulb was flickering out.

"We work nights," she said slowly "the day is for sleeping."

"You're up." Daniel noted, always keeping his eyes alert for any sign of the woman he'd been missing.

"We get a few weeks of vacation every year, I'm on mine now." she replied.

"Vacation? That sounds nice." Jack said. Denya snorted.

"Real nice. Instead of selling my body, I get to spend the days slaving around the house." she replied bitterly before grinning again "It cuts the cost on maids."

"How…frugal." Jack commented, earning a soft laugh from Denya.

"Is it Vala's…week off too?" Daniel asked hopefully.

"Nope, she's working this week." she replied, not bothering to look back to see his reaction, knowing it would be a painful sight.

"So she'll be asleep now?" Jack asked.

"Nah, Vala barely sleeps anymore, she's usually up around this time." Denya said with a smile as they left the house and came upon an immense closed yard filled with gardens, fountains and various different tables and lounges.

"There she is." Denya pointed to a corner of the courtyard where someone had dragged two chairs from an elaborate patio set under the shadow of a large tree. From their vantage point, they could only see the bottom half of the woman; her blue satin-covered crossed legs extended onto the second chair and her feet were moving to an inaudible beat.

While Daniel's heart had seized at the thought of Vala being right there, Denya had kept moving and was quite a few feet ahead of them. She was bending over and speaking to Vala and Daniel cursed the tree for existing in his line of sight.

"You've got visitors." Jack and Daniel heard Denya sing-song with glee.

"Are you serious? This early?" replied the husky voice with the same annoyance Daniel had been treated to when he'd pressed her for details in his bathroom.

"Oh you'll like these ones, I think." Denya said, straightening up and glancing back to the men. "They're not clients."

Vala didn't reply but she was obviously intrigued. Her feet pushed away the chair they had been resting on before touching the grass and holding her as she pushed herself off her other chair and peeked around the tree, finally granting Daniel the sight he'd been craving all week.

Vala's blue-gray eyes shot open to almost comical proportions upon seeing Daniel standing not three feet away. The air was sucked out of her lungs and she swore her heart completely stopped before resuming with frantic beats. His own clear eyes weren't as surprised as hers but then he'd been expecting her, she had never, _ever_ believed she'd ever lay eyes on this man again. She had hoped, dreamed even but her realistic mind had warned her that it was unlikely and pointless to get her hopes up and she'd taken that advice to heart. But here he was, standing in front of her with an uncertain smile and suddenly, that smile was the only thing she was aware of.

"Daniel." she breathed, not even having the presence of mind to berate herself for her wispy tone. Unconsciously she'd taken a few steps forward and unconsciously, he'd responded likewise.

Too focused on his familiar face, Vala didn't notice the rest of his body move. In a split second, Daniel's hands had gripped her shoulders and tugged Vala's body to his, wrapping his arms solidly around her tiny frame. She froze in the embrace as she had the first time he'd done this but she didn't need his prompting to return the gesture this time. Her arms rose against his back and her head rested against his shoulder burrowing ever so slightly into his warmth.

Jack kept quiet, as did Denya, neither wanting to intrude on the moment though both felt a distinct urge to be somewhere else while the moment lasted. His theory about the woman being a manipulative seductress looking for a chump to get her out of her mess had been dealt a pretty major blow. Granted, he hadn't even spoken to her yet but the look of pure disbelief and joy that had spread across her face and the way her fingers were digging into the fabric of Daniel's leather jacket told him that she'd never foreseen his visit. And since one did not reel in a fish without expecting to see it again, Jack suspected he might have been a bit quick to judge.

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Hope you liked it! Please tell me if you did! D More to come soon.


	3. Propositions

**Title: **Perchance to Live  
**Author: **Milena D.  
**Rating:** T+ for now  
**Genre:** Romance/Action/Adventure, etc. Daniel/Vala all the way ;)  
**SPOILERS:** Just for episode 10x01 "Flesh and Blood" and only for one line. That might change but I'll give a warning if it does

**Summary:** Completely AU plot containing the characters, villains and certain mythologies from the show. DV and slight SJ but it's _very_ slight.

**Author's Note #1:** There's just no excuse…I mean, other than striving for (and achieving) straight A's in school…I saw that this fic hasn't been updated in over 2 months and the shame, just ugh. I'm so sorry. I hope this chapter can make up for some of the wait. And after exam period, I have Xmas break so lots of writing time!!! I'll try to get some chapters in reserves in case another busy spell hits…

**Author's Note #2:**Mucho thanks to my long lost sister Stef who beta'd this chapter for me when no one else would. cue musical swell Thanks Stef:D She's also to blame -- I mean -- she's also to thank for the wonderful title:D

**Author's Note #3: **I just wanted to mention that the Daniel in my fic starts out as similar to the early seasons of SG-1, minus the trauma of having and losing a wife.

**Disclaimer:** I own the plot, unoriginal as it may be Don't own the characters.

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Chapter 3: Propositions  
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As soon as Daniel's arms had closed around her, her mind thrust her into the memory of a similar embrace just a few days ago. The fabric against her cheek was different, as was his scent, but the arms locking her to his chest were the same. The force of her memories combined with the warmth emanating from the man holding her were enough to suck her into the moment, blocking out any and everything else. Her mind raced but she couldn't hear it, there were a million questions streaming through her head but Daniel's gentle squeeze muted them. That is, of course, until an unfamiliar throat-clear sounded behind her and instilled a fear in her so powerful that she instinctively pushed Daniel away with enough force to make him stumble.

Vala whipped around placing herself in front of Daniel, sure that she'd find one of Qetesh's goons behind her, but was surprised to see an older man standing casually next to Denya. His brown eyes were surprised but it seemed to be a reaction to her abrupt actions and expression.

"Hi there." he said after a pause, warily watching her reaction.

Denya's eyes moved between Jack and Vala. Her friend was scared and it was understandable; there was no telling the punishments that could befall them for having men in the compound, and no telling what would happen to those men should Qetesh get a hold of them. Neither Denya nor Vala had anything substantial to back up this fear of attachment to anyone on the outside but stories of Qetesh's past retributions on those who dared were enough to keep anyone from trying. The only reason Denya had brought Jack and Daniel this far was Vala's recent turn to reverie. She'd always had a buoyant personality and it hadn't changed but every so often, Denya would catch her friend's eyes losing focus as if she saw something no one else could see and she would wager her remaining years of service that one of these men were responsible for those changes.

"It's alright, Vala. This is Jack, he's a friend of your…_friend_." Denya said reassuringly as she watched Daniel break free from his stupor and enter back into reality.

"Vala?" he called softly, stepping forward and touching her forearm. The gesture didn't startle her but her muscles did seem to unclench ever so slightly. Emboldened by her reaction, he let his hand slip down her arm to reach her hand but before he could reach his destination, she yanked her hand away and stepped towards Denya.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her grey eyes large and beautiful under her frown despite their constant movement to the four corners of the court.

"Jack wanted to meet you." Daniel said simply, attempting to throw all of the attention away from him though Vala's gaze didn't rest on Jack for long before returning to his. He grinned sheepishly and continued, "_I_…wanted to see you…again."

That at least softened her eyes and caused the corners of her lips to quirk slightly.

"Besides, I made you a promise and I wanted you to know I haven't forgotten about it, about you." Daniel said earnestly. As quickly as Vala's half-grin had grown, it fell as soon as the situation returned to the forefront of her mind.

"You have to leave." she told them firmly, grabbing both Daniel and Jack by the arms and pulling them forward toward the house and the exit.

"Wait, what?" Daniel flustered "Vala!" he exclaimed, breaking her strong hold on him and trying to take her hand instead but she let go of Jack to thwart his efforts.

"You can't be here, Daniel." she told him firmly, staring him down with a frown.

"Why-"

"Val!" Denya called, cutting off Daniel's complaint. They both looked over to the blonde and then to the other side of the courtyard where she was gesturing. There stood a handsome man, tall with mousy brown hair and a look of importance. As soon as Vala laid eyes on him she snatched her hand out of Daniel's and took off to meet the man, a giant grin lighting her face.

Jack watched his friend's heart crumble as he'd predicted and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Sorry, Daniel." he sympathized, he'd save the 'I told you so's' for later.

Daniel nodded, feeling like an ass.

Denya, witnessing the scope of the action, sauntered forward and looped her arm with Daniel's comfortingly.

"Poor Daniel," she teased him, trying to restrain her snicker when he turned his glare on her. She let out a melodramatic sigh and patted his arm patronizingly. "You both _do_ realize that he's just a client, right?"

By their widening eyes, they hadn't. Now Denya didn't hold her laughter back. Their faces were so descriptive, especially the younger one. He showed joy at the revelation, hope at the realization that Vala didn't have someone special, and anger at the fact that he was faced with one of the men who used the raven haired beauty.

"You two are just_adorable_." Denya crooned, reaching up to pinch Daniel's cheek but he moved out of the way and shrugged her arms off before she could.

"That's one of them?" he ground out, his jaw clenched as he watched Vala let herself be held by the stranger. "I thought…_appointments_…were held at night…"

Denya turned her eyes to the scene he was watching and couldn't quite muster her usual quips.

"They are…some clients are just a little more…_attached_…than others." she explained, seeing Daniel's hands clench out of the corner of her eye.

"Attached?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Well, obsessed." Denya admitted, before nodding patronizingly toward Daniel "I was trying to spare the little one."

"Stalker-obsessed? Or 'if I can't have you no one will'-obsessed?" Jack asked.

"Oh no, neither," she said quickly, "more of a 'has it in his mind that they're getting married and already set up a nursery in his house for the baby the Ori will be blessing them with'-obsessed…"

Jack wasn't sure he liked this third option better.

"Is he dangerous?" Daniel asked with a hard tone, his eyes never straying from the couple on the other side of the yard.

"No, no." Denya said hurriedly, "well..." she amended but took back again when both men turned to her.

"He's not!" she assured them "Not anymore, he was warned and now he's getting charged double for the same time so it works out well."

"How do you figure that?" Jack pressed, starting to feel the burgeoning urge to help Daniel in his little quest.

"Well, come on," Denya said obviously, "she comes home _once_ with one little bruise and now she's getting paid double what she used to. It's a lot better than a lot of other girls have gotten."

While Daniel seethed silently at her words, Jack pressed on.

"Why is she getting better than the rest of you?"

"Qetesh has always had her eye on Vala, we'd probably begrudge her the special treatment if we didn't pity her for her Majesty's extra attention." Denya shrugged.

"Majesty?" Daniel finally spoke.

"Qetesh." Denya said simply but was met with blank stares "Qetesh…she's a former Lady of Goa? The People of the Snake? She was kicked out for something, we don't know what but she's seen fit to make Tau her happy little home and us her enterprising business." she added bitterly.

"She's from Goa!?" Jack demanded, sharing a disturbed look with Daniel.

"Yep. We're _very_ multicultural over here." Denya praised sarcastically before pointing to the man currently placing something small in Vala's hands, "Tomin over there is from the Ori…probably explains the slightly unbalanced personality." she mused.

"The Ori!?" Daniel exclaimed and Denya nodded exaggeratedly, amused by their overreaction. She leaned back on the tree as they watched Tomin finally leave the compound.

"He's the ambassador? Or the…what is he?" she wondered aloud "It starts with an 'm' I think…masseuse…manager…messenger…"

"Missionary?" Daniel asked.

"That's the one!" she replied with a smirk, "Must make Vala's appointments so very…bland."

They didn't appreciate the joke, Denya shrugged apologetically against the tree.

"I can't believe you've got Goa'uld as employers and Ori as clients…" Daniel muttered.

"Ori?" Vala asked as she came back within earshot.

"Your client." Daniel replied with a tone that expressed his discontent.

Vala ignored his ire and pocketed the present Tomin had given her.

"Another one?" Denya asked her and Vala nodded silently.

The men watched the two women and Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Another?" he asked.

"Another engagement ring." Vala smiled mischievously.

Confused, Jack threw Daniel a glance before nodding.

"Mazaltoff?" he offered but Vala shook her head.

"She tells him that Qetesh catches her wearing the last ring and confiscates it under the 'no getting attached' rule, so Tomin brings her a brand new one at the next visit." Denya explains, "She's always thinking of the future this one."

"You're gonna pawn the rings when you get out?" Jack asked, impressed with the foresight.

"That's the plan." Vala nodded, beaming. "The biggest problem in getting out is staying out. Girls that don't plan ahead have to come crawling back to this place after a while and I don't intend to fall into that ugly cycle."

"Well hopefully you won't have to worry about that soon." Daniel reminded her and Vala's face turned back into stone as she walked past him.

"I told you to leave, Daniel." Vala warned him as he followed her with Jack and Denya trailing behind.

"And I promised you I'd get you out of here." he replied, making her whip around to face him with incredulous eyes.

"I didn't ask you to do that!" she threw back at him.

"I know you didn-"

"_I_ told you to_forget_ me!" she cut him off heatedly, "Which part of that was hard to understand?"

"All of it!" he retorted, his own voice raising. With them having stopped their fast walking, Jack and Denya hung back together to watch it all unfold.

"You soldier boys are all alike, give you a gun and you'll perform miracles but one simple sentence is enough to confuse you." Vala sniped at him.

"I'm not a solider, I'm a _linguist_." he shot back smugly.

"_How_ is that_better_?" she bit back, turning around and swiftly resuming her march.

"Look, I know what you said but I couldn't jus-"

"Well you'll just have to try a little harder, won't you?" she stopped to face him again. "Have you _any_ idea what you've done to yourself just walking into this god forsaken place?"

"What?" he asked slowly, thrown off by the change of subject. Jack looked at Denya and she nodded her confirmation.

"As soon as you walked through those doors, Qetesh knew your name, by now she'll know who you are, where you live! If you stay any longer she'll have everything there is to know about you." Vala said, her panicked anger fading and leaving her with a steady feeling of anxiety.

"You can't believe how amazed I am that you'd even come here to see me. The idea that you actually planned on following through on what you said is the most beautiful thing anyone's ever done for me," she said softly before glaring at him "but _don't_ be an _idiot_. Get out now."

"No." he said definitively.

"Daniel!" she ground out.

"No!" he repeated with attitude, "I'm not reneging on my word."

Vala looked away with frustration and caught sight of Jack.

"You! You're his friend aren't you?" she questioned a startled Jack who moved forward with Denya to join the conversation.

"One could say that."

"Don't bother trying to get Jack to talk me out of this, he'll support me in whatever I do." Daniel said with more confidence than he felt, hoping the message got through to Jack. Judging by his shrug and blank eyes, it didn't.

"I won't." Vala returned, "But I want you to think of your Jack when I tell you that Qetesh will know _everything_ about you. Who you are and who your _loved ones_ are. Are you _seriously_ going to put them in harm's way for a promise I never asked you to make and am asking you not to try to keep?"

Without ridding her face of the sincere gaze she'd directed at Daniel, she crowed with delight to see the guilt seep into his expression. Jack, behind Daniel, marveled at the woman's manipulation tactics and fervent desire to get his friend to drop his mission. He'd walked into the place knowing she was scamming Daniel and he'd be walking out later knowing he'd do everything he could to help her.

"Just go home, Daniel." Vala beseeched him softly.

Daniel swallowed heavily and couldn't meet her eyes. He couldn't believe that he'd be carrying out her wishes, he couldn't imagine going home and forgetting her for all the new memories the future held.

Vala cursed herself another million times for ever getting him involved in her life and wrapped her hands softly around his wrists.

"I promise I'll look you up in three years." she winked, trying to lighten the mood but not quite succeeding. When his pained eyes met hers, it was her turn to avoid his gaze. She cleared her throat and pointed to the exit.

"When you leave, make appointments with Denya and me in the office near the staircase. You can cancel them in a few days but at least now you'll appear to have a semi-credible reason for being here." Vala added.

Daniel nodded numbly and took a small step forward to leave but Vala held him back. He turned to look at her and she pulled his head down for a kiss much less chaste than the last they shared. Without bothering with logic, rational thought, morals or anything of the like, Daniel hungrily returned her kiss, wrapping his arms around her lithe body and drawing her nearer. Behind them, Denya looked on with a saddened heart at a happy ending that would never be and Jack looked on with resolve at a happy ending he would ensure.

As they broke from the kiss, gasping and flushed, Daniel leaned his forehead against hers.

"For the cameras, the story will be more credible now." Vala lied poorly. Daniel laughed humourlessly.

"This isn't going to help me forget you, you know." he noted and felt some satisfaction at her guilty wince.

"I know, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" she apologized as she tried to leave his arms. Daniel would have none of it. The memories of this moment would undoubtedly haunt him for a long time but if they were the only he'd have of Vala then he wouldn't waste the opportunity. Keeping his right arm fastened securely around her waist, he lifted his free hand to her cheek and pulled her lips back to his for a slower kiss that conveyed every emotion they wanted to keep secret.

"Vala." Denya interrupted the moment all too soon. She hated to separate them but the guys needed to leave. Vala broke their embrace and nodded quickly to Denya.

Without a word, Vala stepped out of Daniel's arms and he let her go. Without a glance, Vala joined Denya and Daniel left with Jack.

There wasn't anything Denya could say, there were no words to comfort Vala that wouldn't already be running through her head and it wouldn't be fair to offer her hope so they simply returned to the shaded spot under the tree and sat in silence.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Daniel stayed silent in his morose little world while Jack made the appointments they'd be canceling soon. He had the fleeting thought that he didn't necessarily _have_ to cancel it later, he could come back and…that's when the thought stopped and he pushed it out of his mind. Jack nudged his arm when he was done and they made their way for the grand doors.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked curiously. Daniel lifted his head and narrowed his eyes incredulously at his friend's callousness.

"What?" Jack defended himself with a shrug, "We're not leaving her here. There's no reason to be so gloomy." he explained nonchalantly, watching with satisfaction as light crept back into his young friend's eyes.

"I thought you held the opinion that she was 'a call-girl trying to play me with an obviously contrived story'?" Daniel half-smirked at Jack who rolled his eyes back at him.

"I've got eyes and ears, Daniel." he said, "That girl did everything she could to make you leave, not exactly the trademark of scam artists."

Daniel almost smiled at that but remembered Vala's words.

"What about Qetesh? What she can find out…"

"Daniel, she might know people but I'm willing to bet we know a hell of a lot more…and with bigger guns." Jack dismissed his rebuttal easily and this time a real smile blossomed on Daniel's face.

"So…how?" Daniel asked his former leader eagerly.

"Well, yes. That would be the next step wouldn't it?" Jack replied, essentially clueless on how to undertake their goal.

"Dr. Jackson, General O'Neill." a deep voice interrupted their progress to the exit from the foot of the staircase.

"She was _not_ exaggerating about those resources." Jack muttered.

The man who'd halted their exit was very big, very very big. He was obviously a body-builder turned security guard though he had a tattoo on his forehead marking his clear ownership by the House of Qetesh. He carried a fighting stick in his hand and wore clothing Daniel had only ever seen hanging deep in the back of Teal'c's closet.

"Yes?" Jack addressed the man.

"My lord Qetesh requests your presence." he intoned lowly with the unspoken suggestion that they should comply.

"Of course," Jack smiled easily "anything for such an enterprising…entrepreneur."

The security guard's eyes narrowed, possibly with confusion but more likely with a subtle threat. Heeding the warning, Jack and Daniel followed the man up the grand carpeted staircase and down a beautifully designed hallway to an open door.

Obviously, Qetesh was not the kind of CEO to hold board meetings and crunch numbers with her accountant, maybe because there was a serious lack of desks or tables in the immensely spacious room. There was exotic plush carpeting from wall to wall and the room was covered in vibrant reds, oranges and golds. The space was filled with a dozen or so workers dressed minimally and all fawning over the figure sitting pleasantly in an elaborately carved black marble chair, Qetesh.

The woman was breathtakingly gorgeous and her chain and silk covered bikini-based outfit did nothing to hide it. She let them stand awkwardly in the doorway for a moment or two, clearly asserting her power, before addressing them. With a wave of her hand, every worker left the room and they were able to notice a smug-looking dark-haired man spread out on the sofa near the window several feet away. With an almost imperceptible nod she ordered their guard to leave the room as well and then they were four.

"Dr. Jackson, General O'Neill," she said with the distinctively low voice of the Goa'uld. Her eyes didn't glow as they should but judging by her operation's size in Tau, Daniel figured she'd been away from her country for a very long time and so wouldn't have access to the minerals that caused the luminescence.

"Qetesh, I presume." Daniel replied, trying to keep an even tone.

"You presume correctly." she granted smoothly.

"Is there something we can help you with?" Jack asked genially, trying not to be bothered by her responding smirk.

"Isn't that interesting," she remarked with a secretive smile as she lifted herself gracefully out of her throne and activated a panel on the nearest wall to expose a multitude of camera-fed viewing screens. Another button and every screen filled with a looping clip of Daniel and Vala's intimate goodbye. "I was going to ask you the very same thing." Qetesh smirked.

"What do you want?" Jack asked, dropping every pretense and adopting his commanding presence.

Qetesh's exotic eyes slid fluidly from Jack to Daniel and back to the screens.

"Make me an offer." she proposed with a lilting voice and challenging quirking lips.

"What?" Daniel retorted in shock. "An offer?"

"It's quite simple, Dr. Jackson," Qetesh murmured, sliding a finger across her bare creamy-skinned abdomen as she examined him, "you want her, I own her. Make me an offer."

"Now wait just a minute."

The protest didn't come from either of them, surprisingly, but from the previously lounging dark-haired man. He'd been silently smirking as he enjoyed the exchange but now he was on his feet and approaching them.

"Dr. Jackson, General O'Neill, this is my _associate_, Ba'al." Qetesh introduced him distractedly. Uncaring of their guests, Ba'al slipped into his mother tongue, Goa'uld.

"_What are you playing at, Qetesh?"_

"_It's none of your concern."_

"_I daresay it is! You know she's my favourite!"_

"_So you'll find another way to occupy your afternoons."_

During the entire exchange, Ba'al was clearly angered but Qetesh never broke her serene, calculated exterior. Daniel tried to look clueless and uncomfortable like Jack but it was difficult when he understood their argument. He'd only ever heard Goa'uld spoken by Teal'c on rare occasions but he knew enough to decipher the situation.

"_Besides, darling, the doctor won't break his moral code, not even to free her. Will you, _Dr. Jackson?" Qetesh asked him, clearly having caught him. Daniel glared back at her with all the disgust he felt at the idea of _buying_ Vala like she was a piece of furniture.

"$300, 000." Daniel spit out, surprising them all.

"What's going on?" Jack mock-whispered. Qetesh's eyes lit up menacingly and gleefully at the same time.

"It appears we have our opening bid, General." she voiced smoothly. "However laughable it may be."

"It's what she still has left to pay back!" Daniel protested. Qetesh cocked her head to the side delicately.

"My, you two _have_ gotten close." she remarked meaningfully and Daniel realized that in her eyes, Vala's value had just risen.

"You know, Daniel," she murmured as she glided slowly into his personal space "I'm not exactly known for being…fair." she all but whispered. "Surely that must have come up."

Refusing to swallow against his nervousness, Daniel stood stock still until she moved away to sit on her throne.

"Yeah, it's come up. You care about nothing but profit." he recalled.

"Indeed I don't." she agreed with mocking eyes, "Would you care to try another number? Or shall I simply keep her for my dear friend here?"

Ba'al outwardly seethed at being a pawn in her game.

"You might as well quit now, Tau'ri," Ba'al suggested scathingly "I doubt a couple of soldiers like you would have the means necessary to get your way."

"Hush now, darling," Qetesh ordered quietly "one should never underestimate their opponents."

"Not to sway this whole…transaction…in the wrong direction but why doesn't he just buy her?" Jack asked, pointing his thumb in Ba'al's direction.

"He can't," Qetesh replied delightedly "I own him too."

Ba'al glared at her but didn't comment.

"One mistake at Selenis and suddenly his men are gone and he's all mine." Qetesh gloated crisply.

"We had a treaty, I trusted you'd uphold your end." Ba'al threw back.

"That was your mistake." she snapped back before taking pity on him. "We know your pet is awake, why don't you enjoy her while you still can."

"What?" Daniel exclaimed. "No, he can't!"

"One million." Qetesh crooned.

"Dollars?" Jack shot back.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." she pouted but gestured Ba'al to leave them. Daniel watched him go, scorching rage coursing through his veins.

"$350, 000." Daniel offered as calmly as he could.

"Daniel," Qetesh sighed, as she draped herself sideways on her chair, her bare legs dangling over the side and her jeweled hand running through her jet black hair. "you're starting to bore me."

"$400, 000." he replied, not giving into her taunts.

"You know," she said suddenly, bringing a finger to her cheek "I bet Tomin would like the opportunity to place his own bids. A wealthy ambassador like him, I'm sure he'd have many uses for Valerie." she mused, Vala's fake name grating on Daniel's last nerve.

"Her name is Vala and we can have the nice ambassador deported so I suggest you focus your efforts here." Jack butt in before Daniel could snap at her.

"Or we could just deport you and dismantle your 'business'." Daniel threatened, suddenly enthused with the idea.

"I think you'll find that quite difficult. My residence here, including my business, is completely legal, according to your own laws. And even if it weren't," she smirked, "you'd still have far to go to move me an inch."

"$500, 000 is my final offer." Daniel said finally, cursing himself for having broken his stoic facade.

Qetesh went silent at that, her finger gliding smoothly over the polished marble of her throne but keeping their gazes the whole time. Daniel knew this was another intimidation tactic and was determined to show her up…but he was also terrified she'd rescind the offer entirely.

"Look," he said solidly, calling on ever ounce of diplomacy he possessed and pushing down the self-disgust he felt over bartering for Vala's ownership. "you don't have many options. Either you don't accept my offer and keep Vala thereby losing all revenue from her in about three years, or you take the offer and make a clean extra $200, 000 here and now."

Qetesh still stayed quiet, forever apprising him, keeping his anxiety soaring for what seemed like an eternity before reacting at all. Finally, she pursed her lips and sat up regally in her throne, her black hair framing either side of her face as her cold grey eyes kept her audience immobile until a small smile graced her lips.

"Can't fight that logic, Dr. Jackson, now can I." she accorded silkily. "We have an agreement."

Daniel let go of a breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding but watched warily as Qetesh stepped down from her throne's dais to lead them to the door.

"I'll have my aid draw up a contract. He'll see to the arrangements."

Daniel's instinct was to thank her but he wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

"And Ba'al?" he asked darkly. Qetesh turned away from the pager on the wall to look at him with questioning eyes.

"What about him, Dr. Jackson?" she teased innocently.

"Aren't you going to call him back, away from…away from her?" he demanded.

"Do you have my money?" she retorted sweetly, not even trying to hide the naked malice in her eyes.

"We have a contract!" he yelled at her as they were ushered into the hallway.

"Not yet, we don't." she informed him icily "And the transaction will not be complete until $500, 000 in bills is resting on my lap. I suggest you start collecting those funds, Dr. Jackson," she advised with a glare "it's our busy season."

With that, Qetesh's burly guard reappeared and every so gently escorted them back downstairs where everything was drawn up and signed. Daniel couldn't help glancing down the long hallway that led to the courtyard every so often. His mind was racing with what he'd done, with what would happen. It wasn't until they got back into the car and Jack handed him his cell phone that he snapped out of his stupor and got to work. As Jack started the car, Daniel dialed a familiar number.

"Jonas? Hi, I'm going to need you to put in a long distance call to Professor Catherine Langford in New York. I need her to take my artifacts out of storage and auction them to the highest bidders." The irony of his request did not escape him.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, did you just say you wanted all of your artifacts to be auctioned off?" Jonas's static-filled voice returned incredulously.

"Only until I've raised half a million dollars." Daniel replied oddly.

"If you're sure, Doctor." Jonas replied hesitantly.

"I'm sure. Just…" Daniel squeezed the bridge of his nose trying to imagine how he would explain this auction to Catherine! "Just tell her that I'm on my way to New York and to start selling without me."

"Okay, I'll do that right now."

"Thank you, Jonas."

"If you don't mind, Dr. Jackson, can I ask what this is for?" Jonas's voice came through cautiously.

"No, Jonas…later, maybe but…no." Daniel replied with some guilt at the snap in his voice. His nerves were frayed worse than he could ever remember them being.

"Hey," Jack called as they entered the base's perimeter "you're getting her out of there."

"I'm _buying_ her out of there." Daniel replied morosely after a moment.

"You think the 'how' is going to matter to her?"

Jack's attempt at reassurance only drove a stake of panic into his heart. His eyes widened and he shot up straight in his seat. How the hell was he going to tell Vala that he'd essentially just bought her?

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

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Thank you so much everyone for sticking with this fic. I haven't abandoned any of my fics, they're all on the way, I'm just having technical issues with that thing called Real Life –growls—anyway, please Review:D


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